So I told the girlfriend to pack cold weather gear ‘just in case’ in gets nippy while she’s at gun camp. No one ever listens to the Zero. Needless to say, when she was at the range being cold in her vest and long underwear she came to appreciate the fact that I had thoughtfully left a flectar parka and liner stuffed in a drybag in the truckbox. I cant pat myself on the back too hard though…it occurs to me if I really had my Zero on, I would have included gloves, hat and neck gaiter in that drybag too. I’ll correct that deficiency later and chalk it up to the learning curve.
=====
Part of being Cmdr. Zero is being the ultimate in smart shoppers. Its no secret that preparing for [insert calamity of choice here] requires more than a few trips to CostCo, REI, Home Depot and WalMart. How to keep it all straight? Well, you gotta have lists. And more lists. And even more lists. I keep a small notebook in my Bag O’ Tricks ™ that has lists taken off of various spreadsheets. Thus, if I find myself in ALbertson’s with an extra $10 in my pocket I can consult my lists, see whats needed, and pick it up. The nice thing is it alos gives me a handy place for price comparisons. For example, if im at Sportsmans Warehouse and I happen to notice they have Coleman propane lanterns on sale but I dont have any cash at the moment, I can jot down the price and compare next time Im at, say, CostCo. Amazing how much you save that way. Spreadsheets are the best thing for the preparedness minded since the MRE and LED flashlights. I have about a dozen spreadsheets devoted to firearms, ammo, food, clothing, first aid stuff, bug out items, off-site caches, etc, etc. Hey, why dont I throw up an example…here

This particular example is a list of all the goodies that go with my Model 10 .38. Everything fits in a large ammo can so it all is stored in one place ready to be transported on a moments notice. Watertight, airtight, and outta sight. (Please dont comment with ‘hey, you forgot…’ this isnt a complete list and parts of it were not posted for opsec.)

Nice thing is, I print out this list in its smallest readable font, tuck it into my notebook, and next time Im at the gun show I can see what I need or dont need. Saves me time and, more importantly, money.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Picked up a pair of Motorola Talkabout Distance DPS 2-way radios the other day. I already had a couple small Motorola T5000 Talkabout FRS radios but their range was a bit lacking. The Distance radios, in addition to better range (2 watt) are tweakable to 5 watt. They run on a rechargable battery pack or you can swap out the battery pack for six AA batts. (The DPS stands for dual power source). I'd been wanting something with better range for a little while now. What I wanted them for was so that if Anything Bad happens and I had to go to the girlfriends workplace to retrieve her I could grab one radio and leave the other on the kitchen counter with a note saying I was going to get her. This way, if she makes it back home before me she can see that Ive left, pick up the radio and let me know she's back at base and I can return. Thus, the criteria was that there had to be enough range to the radio to reach my place of work and her place of work. These radios do that. At some point someone is going to say “Hey Commander, why not just get a ham license and be done with it.” Well…good question. The simple answer is I dont feel the need to add my name and address to another fedgov list. Of course, if something Really Big happens the FCC is going to have alot more things to do rather than chase down someone with a 2-meter handheld who doesnt have a license. (And, of course, there is an exemption cases of 'emergency'.) Nonetheless, I do need to get involved in ham radio from the standpoint of knowing what sort of equipment, antannae and other goodies I'll need to keep in touch with the various LMI. I currently have an 'export'-type CB radio thats been modified(!) to operate on a few other bands and when I threw up a dipole ant. I was able to listen to stuff from as far as Michigan. While it would be nice to be able to communicate that far out, my immediate need would be the western half of Montana although it would be nice to have most of the Pac. NW within range. Every now and then I cruise eBay for milsurp PRC radios in various flavors. Military ruggedness has alot of appeal.
=====
Woke up this morning to a very unfamiliar electronic beeping noise. Hmmm. Got out of bed and glanced into the kitchen figuring that maybe it was the cel phone. Nope, but the emergency lighting in the kitchen was on. Power failure. Hmmm…but then why do I hear the whining of computer fans? Turns out the beeping was the UPS for the computers letting me know something was up. Shut down the computers just in time for the power to come back on. Figures. Moral of the story: UPS are neat. The rest of the house was, of course, just fine…power failure during daylight hours is barely an inconvenience. Nighttime is another story, though…regardless, its always nice to know that if the power goes out things are still gonna be just fine since we've prepared for this eventuality.
=====
Girlfriend is off at gun camp. She's taking combat pistol, shotgun, rifle and 'tactical' [sniper] rifle courses this summer. Need to get her a rifle suitable for that last class. I'd let her use my CZ 308 but I think it might be too much gun for her. CZ makes a version in .223 that might be perfect for her though. Wouldnt mind having one for myself anyway.
=====
Reminds me…I sent her off with a case (1,000) of Fiocchi 9mm from our stores. Need to replace that next weekend.
=====
Global situations appear unchanged…the Chinese and North Koreans continue their activities. Terrorism threats remain fairly unchanged. The economy seems about the same. The only big change lately has been the unprecedented increase in gasoline prices. I fully expect that to be reflected in increased prices on goods that are trucked in (i.e. groceries).
=====
While Ive seen scads and scads of new manufacturer Glock mags on the market Ive not seen very many 'norm cap' mags made available for other guns such as my AR's and P35. I really want some more of the Browning mags with the little 'mousetrap' spring in the bottom for easier ejection. Just need to hunt around, I guess. I've got about two dozen P35 mags but that needs to be split between two pistols. I'd like to have about 20 per gun. Ar mag situation isnt bad, but I'd very much like another forty or so. AK mags have never been a problem finding, even during the ban, at a reasonable price.

Picked up a pair of Motorola Talkabout Distance DPS 2-way radios the other day. I already had a couple small Motorola T5000 Talkabout FRS radios but their range was a bit lacking. The Distance radios, in addition to better range (2 watt) are tweakable to 5 watt. They run on a rechargable battery pack or you can swap out the battery pack for six AA batts. (The DPS stands for dual power source). I’d been wanting something with better range for a little while now. What I wanted them for was so that if Anything Bad happens and I had to go to the girlfriends workplace to retrieve her I could grab one radio and leave the other on the kitchen counter with a note saying I was going to get her. This way, if she makes it back home before me she can see that Ive left, pick up the radio and let me know she’s back at base and I can return. Thus, the criteria was that there had to be enough range to the radio to reach my place of work and her place of work. These radios do that. At some point someone is going to say “Hey Commander, why not just get a ham license and be done with it.” Well…good question. The simple answer is I dont feel the need to add my name and address to another fedgov list. Of course, if something Really Big happens the FCC is going to have alot more things to do rather than chase down someone with a 2-meter handheld who doesnt have a license. (And, of course, there is an exemption cases of ’emergency’.) Nonetheless, I do need to get involved in ham radio from the standpoint of knowing what sort of equipment, antannae and other goodies I’ll need to keep in touch with the various LMI. I currently have an ‘export’-type CB radio thats been modified(!) to operate on a few other bands and when I threw up a dipole ant. I was able to listen to stuff from as far as Michigan. While it would be nice to be able to communicate that far out, my immediate need would be the western half of Montana although it would be nice to have most of the Pac. NW within range. Every now and then I cruise eBay for milsurp PRC radios in various flavors. Military ruggedness has alot of appeal.
=====
Woke up this morning to a very unfamiliar electronic beeping noise. Hmmm. Got out of bed and glanced into the kitchen figuring that maybe it was the cel phone. Nope, but the emergency lighting in the kitchen was on. Power failure. Hmmm…but then why do I hear the whining of computer fans? Turns out the beeping was the UPS for the computers letting me know something was up. Shut down the computers just in time for the power to come back on. Figures. Moral of the story: UPS are neat. The rest of the house was, of course, just fine…power failure during daylight hours is barely an inconvenience. Nighttime is another story, though…regardless, its always nice to know that if the power goes out things are still gonna be just fine since we’ve prepared for this eventuality.
=====
Girlfriend is off at gun camp. She’s taking combat pistol, shotgun, rifle and ‘tactical’ [sniper] rifle courses this summer. Need to get her a rifle suitable for that last class. I’d let her use my CZ 308 but I think it might be too much gun for her. CZ makes a version in .223 that might be perfect for her though. Wouldnt mind having one for myself anyway.
=====
Reminds me…I sent her off with a case (1,000) of Fiocchi 9mm from our stores. Need to replace that next weekend.
=====
Global situations appear unchanged…the Chinese and North Koreans continue their activities. Terrorism threats remain fairly unchanged. The economy seems about the same. The only big change lately has been the unprecedented increase in gasoline prices. I fully expect that to be reflected in increased prices on goods that are trucked in (i.e. groceries).
=====
While Ive seen scads and scads of new manufacturer Glock mags on the market Ive not seen very many ‘norm cap’ mags made available for other guns such as my AR’s and P35. I really want some more of the Browning mags with the little ‘mousetrap’ spring in the bottom for easier ejection. Just need to hunt around, I guess. I’ve got about two dozen P35 mags but that needs to be split between two pistols. I’d like to have about 20 per gun. Ar mag situation isnt bad, but I’d very much like another forty or so. AK mags have never been a problem finding, even during the ban, at a reasonable price.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well now….

Interesting idea.

Well now….

Interesting idea.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Being into preparedness leaves you with various worries that the sheeple usually dont get. Part of it is because we generally think about 'the unthinkable' and do not subscribe to the 'it'll never happen to me' philosophy. Naturally, one of our bigger concerns is that someday Something Bad is going to happen while we are travelling or otherwise away from our fortified homes and bunkers. The irony of having a years supply of food water and fuel stored and then being 2000 miles away from it when you need it is not lost on me. Anyway, the girlfriend, who has of late been reading Aherns The Survivalist series, had a dream last night that she was far and away from the safety and security of Zeroland and stuck on the East Coast when fanatical Muslims start dropping nukes. At that point it basically becomes every post-nuke 'leave the relative safety to wander the wasteland and find your loved ones' movie. The obvious solution is to simply carry with you what you need. Given todays stormtrooper mentality at airports and whatnont, transporting an AR, Glock and an 870, even though perfectly legal, still poses risks. Thats in addition to having to pack along some water purification gear, spare ammo, clothing, boots, backpacks and the usual summary BOB gear. A more practical alternative, if its a place youre going to be visiting more than once (like your folks' place that you visit twice every year), would be to cache a small amount of The Usual Goodies in a nice, sealed, unobtrusive box that you can leave in place. I had to think about this and while I never did anything about it, I thought that one of the best ways would be to get one of those Rubbermaid black-n-gray storage containers in a reasonable size, stuff it with The Usual Goodies (some freezedrieds, water filter, ammo, flashlight, lightsticks, backpack stove, fuel, knife, clothes, etc.) and simply UPS it to my destination a few days before my arrival. When Im ready to leave (assuming I choose not to leave said package there) I UPS it back to myself. Not cheap…probably $30 each way in shipping but, man, wouldnt you want to spend $30 for the relative security it would provide if you got stuck in Chicago, NYC or LA during a blackout, riot or other Really Bad Thing?

Naturally, this begs the question, what would you pack? Well, obviously you cant pack everything you want to…and equally obvious is that certain disasters will call for different goodies (and quantities of goodies). For example, a blackout seldom lasts more than three days and I'll be using up batteries alot faster than I'll be using up, say, soap. Contraversely, if its a riot Im probably going to be using up more ammo than batteries. Naturally, I realize that you cant really pack enough gear to handle trekking 2000 miles back to the heavily armed, well stocked and remarkably friendly oasis that is Zerotopia but I think you can pack enough gear to get you through the immediate crisis until such time as things have calmed down to the point where normal (or semi-normal) transportation services are available.

Your typical BOB is a good place to start. They usually cover the immediate basics of water, food, and that sort of thing. In fact, simply tossing youre average BOB into a hardsided container and mailing it to yourself would put you order of magnitudes ahead of the population.

Anyway, I think that I need to add to the long list of projects Ive been wanting to do…I need to come up with a list of items for a prolonged away-from-base period of time that can all be packaged into a relatively small container for long-term storage, handle the rigors of frquent travel (being shipped around the US), take advantage of local resources to minimize materials needing to be packed (i.e. not needing to pack ten gallons of water since its quite likely local water resources will be available. Simply pack water container and purification instead. [although to be safe a few of the lifeboat-ration packets of sterile water would be a good idea]), and generally give the preparedness-minded individual a serious leg up on the rest of the sheeple. (To say nothing of a nasty surprise to the predatory types…)

Definitely some list-making to do…..

Being into preparedness leaves you with various worries that the sheeple usually dont get. Part of it is because we generally think about ‘the unthinkable’ and do not subscribe to the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ philosophy. Naturally, one of our bigger concerns is that someday Something Bad is going to happen while we are travelling or otherwise away from our fortified homes and bunkers. The irony of having a years supply of food water and fuel stored and then being 2000 miles away from it when you need it is not lost on me. Anyway, the girlfriend, who has of late been reading Aherns The Survivalist series, had a dream last night that she was far and away from the safety and security of Zeroland and stuck on the East Coast when fanatical Muslims start dropping nukes. At that point it basically becomes every post-nuke ‘leave the relative safety to wander the wasteland and find your loved ones’ movie. The obvious solution is to simply carry with you what you need. Given todays stormtrooper mentality at airports and whatnont, transporting an AR, Glock and an 870, even though perfectly legal, still poses risks. Thats in addition to having to pack along some water purification gear, spare ammo, clothing, boots, backpacks and the usual summary BOB gear. A more practical alternative, if its a place youre going to be visiting more than once (like your folks’ place that you visit twice every year), would be to cache a small amount of The Usual Goodies in a nice, sealed, unobtrusive box that you can leave in place. I had to think about this and while I never did anything about it, I thought that one of the best ways would be to get one of those Rubbermaid black-n-gray storage containers in a reasonable size, stuff it with The Usual Goodies (some freezedrieds, water filter, ammo, flashlight, lightsticks, backpack stove, fuel, knife, clothes, etc.) and simply UPS it to my destination a few days before my arrival. When Im ready to leave (assuming I choose not to leave said package there) I UPS it back to myself. Not cheap…probably $30 each way in shipping but, man, wouldnt you want to spend $30 for the relative security it would provide if you got stuck in Chicago, NYC or LA during a blackout, riot or other Really Bad Thing?

Naturally, this begs the question, what would you pack? Well, obviously you cant pack everything you want to…and equally obvious is that certain disasters will call for different goodies (and quantities of goodies). For example, a blackout seldom lasts more than three days and I’ll be using up batteries alot faster than I’ll be using up, say, soap. Contraversely, if its a riot Im probably going to be using up more ammo than batteries. Naturally, I realize that you cant really pack enough gear to handle trekking 2000 miles back to the heavily armed, well stocked and remarkably friendly oasis that is Zerotopia but I think you can pack enough gear to get you through the immediate crisis until such time as things have calmed down to the point where normal (or semi-normal) transportation services are available.

Your typical BOB is a good place to start. They usually cover the immediate basics of water, food, and that sort of thing. In fact, simply tossing youre average BOB into a hardsided container and mailing it to yourself would put you order of magnitudes ahead of the population.

Anyway, I think that I need to add to the long list of projects Ive been wanting to do…I need to come up with a list of items for a prolonged away-from-base period of time that can all be packaged into a relatively small container for long-term storage, handle the rigors of frquent travel (being shipped around the US), take advantage of local resources to minimize materials needing to be packed (i.e. not needing to pack ten gallons of water since its quite likely local water resources will be available. Simply pack water container and purification instead. [although to be safe a few of the lifeboat-ration packets of sterile water would be a good idea]), and generally give the preparedness-minded individual a serious leg up on the rest of the sheeple. (To say nothing of a nasty surprise to the predatory types…)

Definitely some list-making to do…..

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

A little range time yesterday. One of the LMI brought along his Rem. 700 and shot a 8/10″ five shot group at 300 yards. I was….humbled. My shooting at 300 yards was, sadly, not quite as good. A bit more than MOA. On the other hand we tossed a couple IDPA/IPSC type cardboard targets out there and they were an easy hit every time. I really need to get a better scope for my CZ…something with repeatable and discernable click adjustments, better optics and maybe a smidge more magnification. (Mr. 8/10″ was shooting a 14x Leupold.)
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While at the range, an assortment of pepper poppers were set up and pretty much everyone shot best when using a Glock.
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Theres a 'Batteries Plus' store not far from here. Im going to head over there and see if they have the suggested batteries from the previous couple of posts.

A little range time yesterday. One of the LMI brought along his Rem. 700 and shot a 8/10″ five shot group at 300 yards. I was….humbled. My shooting at 300 yards was, sadly, not quite as good. A bit more than MOA. On the other hand we tossed a couple IDPA/IPSC type cardboard targets out there and they were an easy hit every time. I really need to get a better scope for my CZ…something with repeatable and discernable click adjustments, better optics and maybe a smidge more magnification. (Mr. 8/10″ was shooting a 14x Leupold.)
=====
While at the range, an assortment of pepper poppers were set up and pretty much everyone shot best when using a Glock.
=====
Theres a ‘Batteries Plus’ store not far from here. Im going to head over there and see if they have the suggested batteries from the previous couple of posts.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I need to pick up some spare parts for the FAL. Gas tube, springs, gas regulator, etc, etc. Ideally, what I need is to find a place thats selling a stripped FAL parts kit (you know, complete gun except the receiver has been cut in half) and use that.
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So what are my electrical needs as regards to the previous post? I want to be able to run an array of LED lighting for the bunker and the pathway to it. Additionally, I'd like to be able to run a radio (TX/RX…but mostly listening). Thats it. Both items run on DC so theres no need for an inverter. I simply want something that I can set up and forget about until I need it. The biggest caveat is that I want to use storage batteries that wont vent gas when recharging. I'd like to keep the batteries in my basement and dont want gas building up from recharging, so I suppose some sort of sealed battery is the way to go.
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I am becoming a believer in those annoying little bottles of hand sanitizer that people carry around with them. The last couple of times I got sick I firmly believe it was from picking something up on my hands (probably from a handshake) and then used those same hands to feed myself. So now I keep a bottle of this sterno-gel around and use it every so often. I need to get a gallon jug so I can refill the smaller bottles. After the apocalypse a little thing like a 24-hour stomach bug is not going to be something you can just go ahead and accomodate.
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Tested the OEM 31-rd Glock mag the other day. Loads easily, shot reliably. Moral: go with OEM every chance you get.
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Snowed/sleeted a bit yesterday so I donned my Carhart coat. Its like putting on armour. Stiff, bulky material that makes you feel impervious to the elements hurled against it. And they last forever. Carhart outerwear gets the Squeal of Approval.